A fundamental change in China came sooner than anybody thought

China has a ton of challenges to face as it tries to transition
its economy from one based on investment to one based on
consumption.

But only one of them is "fundamental," according to
Barclays. And that's demographics.

The principle behind this is really simple. When your working-age
population shrinks, everything in your economy shrinks.

What's more, China is already showing signs of exhausting its
supply of cheap labor as low-skilled workers move from rural
areas, get an education, and become more expensive.

In economics, this point in an economy's move through
industrialization and beyond is called The Lewis Turning Point.

China has reached this point before anyone thought it would.
Back in 2013 the IMF released a working paper estimating that
this would happen between 2020 and 2025 — but it seems to be
happening already.